THESE chilling pictures show the decaying remains of an abandoned marine hospital which once treated hundreds of American Civil War veterans for yellow fever.

Eerie pictures reveal the operating equipment and medical apparatus left to rot at the site, which has lain derelict for more than 50 years.

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Medical equipment is among the items abandoned at the site after the hospital closed half a century agoCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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Furniture was left to rot at the hospital which was once an innovative site for tackling yellow feverCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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Layers of paint can be seen peeling from the walls of the hospital's empty corridorsCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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An old-fashioned lamp remains attached to the ceiling in an old operating roomCredit: Exclusivepix Media

The marine hospital opened in 1884 and consisted of six buildings – the surgeon’s house, a stable, the executive building, two wards and the nurses’ building.

But since then it has had a varied history, serving a number of different purposes before being left to rot in 1965.

The hospital was originally used to treat Civil War soldiers and conduct scientific research in hopes of finding a cure for yellow fever.

During the 1930s, several new Works Progress Administration - a public works organisation which provided jobs for millions of unemployed people - buildings were added to the site.

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Graffiti has been daubed on the walls of the abandoned hospital, which treated civil war veterans and sailorsCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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A rusted radiator lies on the floor surrounded by other debrisCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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Some of the eerie pictures reveal the extent of rotting ceilings at the former hospitalCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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The building's grand exterior infers how significant it once was, but it has since been left to decayCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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The hospital opened in 1884 amid a devastating yellow fever epidemic in the city which took the lives of thousands

To make room for the new buildings, the hospital's wards and stables were demolished.

The executive and the nurses’ buildings were physically moved 300 feet on wagons pulled by mules to their new locations.

The nurse’s station is located on the east side of the 1930s hospital building and the executive building is now home to the National Ornamental Metal Museum, a museum for the collection, preservation, and exhibition of historical and contemporary metalwork.

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The three-storey neo-classical brick hospital building was completed in 1937 and built in the Georgian-style with slate roofing, a copper cupola on pedestals, and large limestone columns, capitals, and gutters.

Each wing of the building contained patient rooms and day rooms, while the centre section contained a dental ward, operating room, sound proof chamber for hearing tests and nurse stations.

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Loose floorboards and peeling paint can be seen at the derelict hospitalCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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In some parts the plaster has completely decayed revealing the bricks beneathCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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A plastic chair has survived amid the decay around it since the hospital closed in 1965Credit: Exclusivepix Media

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The six building site was split with part of it becoming a museumCredit: Exclusivepix Media

Although built to serve the needs of sick seamen, the building was used to treat members of the coast guard, cadets of the state maritime academies, members of the coast and geodetic survey, public health fieldmen, the Army Corps of Engineers and employees and federal workers injured on duty.

After it closed in 1965, the western half of the property was leased to a group of businessmen in 1976, who would later develop Memphis's Metal Museum there.

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Fluorescent lighting hangs from the ceiling in one of the larger roomsCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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Since opening in 1884 the hospital has been used by sailors, the coast guard, academics and the armyCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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The property was sold off in 2004 and there are plans to renovate itCredit: Exclusivepix Media

The nurses’ dormitory now houses the museums galleries and gift shop, the junior officers’ quarters is used by artists in residence and other guests of the museum.

The property was sold off to a developer Lauren Crews in 2004, with the initial plan of renovating the ageing building into condos.

The plan has since been reevaluated and includes renovating the nurses’ station and main hospital building into apartments, and building a boutique hotel nearby.

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Part of the site was briefly used during Desert Storm to house soldiersCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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The year before the hospital was built, 2,000 people died in Memphis of yellow feverCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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The yellow fever epidemic was started after refugees fled Cuba during its own war of independence from Spain, bringing the disease with themCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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Around 20,000 people in the Mississippi Valley died from the condition in the first year of the epidemicCredit: Exclusivepix Media

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